Deep Blue Daynight T-100 GMT Chronograph

Just wanted to give you a brief heads up regarding a new offering from a small American watchmaker Deep Blue Watches. It looks like they have just updated their Daynight range with a Deep Blue Daynight T100 GMT Chronograph model. Still capable of withstanding water pressure of up to 50ATM, it can now be used by especially busy combat divers and other special forces operators featuring not one or two, but whole three time zones. Well, sort of.

If you take a look at the timekeeper’s traditionally busy dial, you will notice that there are 12 hour markers decorated with blue tritium tubes that are accompanied not only by a 24-hour scale on a bezel flange, but also with an extra scale in the same military format, but with odd numbers printed between the hour markers.

Although, to my taste, the additional scale is somewhat superfluous, it is still a nice “free” option, at least for a person whose ideal of a fine time measuring device is something closer to Breitling Navitimer rather than Rolex Submariner.

While their Daynight 32 T100 three-hander is animated by an inexpensive Seiko NH35 hand-wound caliber, this version features a more complex ETA Valjoux 7754 caliber that comes in an Elaboree grade and features a personalized oscillating weight with nicely done vertical Geneva stripes.

The watch is rated for pretty impressive 500 meters of water resistance, so it is no wonder that the stainless steel case is quite massive at 46 millimeters in diameter and whole 20 millimeters high.

The choice of body will clearly limit demand for the timekeeper because it is much less comfortable to wear on a daily basis. On the other hand, it may be quite popular among hardcore divers who prefer to go under water with an electronic diving computer and with a mechanical wristwatch as an additional safety measure. However, the remarkable WR rating of this gadget is partially neutered with an impressive price stick, which turns this otherwise nice tool into a luxury item leading us back to square one: there are not so many persons willing to wear this oversized monster as an accessory. Go figure.

Another thing that makes this new T100 GMT a bit less desirable than, say, their own DayNight T100 OPS Diver three-hander that they have released just last year, is the way the dial of the new timepiece is stuffed with information: speaking frankly, you don’t really need all these scales and sub-dials in a tool watch.

To increase its water tightness, the case is equipped with a 4.00 millimeter thick sapphire crystal, as well as with screw-down chronograph push-pieces and crown.

Given its complexity, the watch is offered at a fairly attractive price. At this time, the T-100 GMT sells for $2000 USD, which makes it almost as expensive as the gorgeous Perrelet Seacraft GMT, which is rated for 777 meters, but if you don’t really care about brand names, logos and all this consumerist stuff and are simply looking for a timekeeper that could also be used as a real tool watch (the 60 tritium tubes that illuminate its dial even in the darkest water are nothing to sneeze at), the Daynight T-100 GMT looks like a better choice.